Improvement in slate-roofing



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD P. FARNUM, OF IJAMSVILLE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT lN SLATE-ROOFING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,103, dated April 7, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. FARNUM, of Ijamsville, in the county of Frederick and State of Maryland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Slate Roofing; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of a roof, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a section of the same at w m. Fig. 3 is a section of the same at y 51;.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

The nature of my said invention consists, first, in a peculiar manner of arranging and applying the slates so as to dispense with the use of sheathing; second, in the combination of longitudinallygrooved bearings with gates, arranged as hereinafter described; third, in a novel device for fastening the slates; fourth, in a device for supporting the intermediate portions of the slates between the rafters.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe the mode of carrying it into effect.

A A represent rafters placed at a distance apart equal to the width of the slates to be used.

B is a plate to which the heels of the rafters are secured in customary manner.

0 is a ridge-piece, against which the upper ends rest.

D D are bearings extending from end to end of the rafters, to the upper sides of which they are secured. The said bearings are each formed with one, two, or more, longitudinal grooves, d d, on their upper surfaces.

E E are slates laid in single courses with flush sides, a side joint coming over each of the bearings D upon the rafters. Each successive course is, by preference, laid with a slight head lap, though the head-joints as well as the side-joints may be made flush, if preferred. All the joints are carefully secured with cement or packing, so as to render them impervious to water. The end rafters are set in sufficiently far to permit the outer edges of the slates to project beyond them at each gate in customary manner.

In laying the roof the outer edge of the first slate of each course is secured against lateral and vertical displacement by hooks F F driven into the end rafters and turning over the head-lap of the slates. The tops and heels of the succeeding slates may likewise be held by double hooks G G, of analogous construction, driven into the rafter or hearing D above, and turning over the upper edgeof the first course and then bending backward to receive and hold the lower edge of the next, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. This fastening has, however, this disadvantage, that the hook coming between the upper and under surfaces of the slates prevents them lying closely together, exposing a wider joint to be closed by cement. A preferable fastening is one of my own invention, consisting of a staple or slotted pin, H, driven down through the side-joint between the edges of the slates, as shown in in Figs. 1 and 3, and a wedge-shaped key, I, which, being driven into the slot of the said staple above the slates, firmly hold the four adjacent corners of the latter. The staple does not pass completely through the bearing D, and therefore causes no danger of leakage, and being readily let into the edges of the slates does not necessitate a wider joint. Cement is readily placed around the staple to make it perfectly tight. Beside doing away with the separation of the surfaces at the head-joint, the wedge-shaped key possesses the additional advantage of adapting itself to plates of unequal thickness, so that they may be more tightly held down.

J J are transverse bars notched into the rafters beneath the bearings D, and under about the center of each course of slates. K K are wedges inserted above the bars J J, beneath the slates, after the latter are secured down, in order to support their centers. The bearin gs D are notched so as to afford the successive slates a solid bearing, as shown in Fig. 2. By these means the roof is rendered so secure and solid that any part of it may support a great weight.

The great advantage in a roof of the above construction is that it reduces by one-half the quantity of slate required, as compared with the ordinary mode of laying them, thus reducing greatly the weight and the cost of material. The rafters, though more numerous than ordinarily, are correspondingly decreased 11 size, so that by making them of inch boards set on edge an actual saving of timber may be effected. I

By cementing the head-laps as well as the side-joints the roof may be made entirely Water-tight and will operate effectively with a pitch of one inch to a foot. With a pitch of four inches to a foot the cementing of the head-lap may be dispensed with and the roof will be in all respects as efficient as an ordinary slate roof in which double the quantity of slate is required, by reason of the double head-lap necessary to break joints.

It is intended to effectually exclude water by cementing the joints, but if by any accident a slight leak should occur, the grooves 01 d in the'bearings Willeffectually carry it 011", While at the same time it will be impossible for leakage to occur to a sufficient extent to endanger decay,

laid and arranged as above set forth.

3. The staple H and. key I, applied in the manner explained, in combination with the slates E and bearings D d d.

4. The transverse bars J and wedgesK,e1n-

ployed in combinationwith the slates E and staples A, in the manner and for the, purposes explained.

Witnesses: EDWARD P. FARNUM.

REUBEN SHANK, J. M. HARDING. 

